this is targeted at yr 11s and 12s but now that highschool is almost over, what's your overall experience with friendships throughout highschool? Will you guys keep in touch with your highschool friends or ghost everyone and start fresh in uni?
this is such a good question and one i secretly always wondered too but i think i was afraid of the answer. like most people, in my adolescent years i had rocky friendships where i showed up weirdly and awkwardly and was far from the movie-style friendship group of my dreams. that being said, particularly towards the end of hs i really began to find myself and cultivate friendships that were really just right for me. side note - individual friendships that are outside of your core 'group' are such a blessing and please don't be afraid to talk to new people especially in year twelve!
back to your question, overall i would say i'm very grateful. i am grateful to have learned what it means for me to show up as a friend and how to choose friends that are kind and good natured. i also really valued the experience in how to navigate situations where i had to coexist with people who i really clashed with. that might sound very 'toxic positivity' , but genuinely it is such an important life skill to not burn bridges and learn to radiate kindness but not tolerate disrespect. it takes practice! make the most of it while you can in a safe environment. also this is the time to develop skills like conflict resolution and how to bring up issues in friendship and facilitating deep and difficult conversations.
to the second part, truthfully i haven't spoken to most people from my highschool since my last hsc exam which sounds scary but is to be expected. sometimes it takes graduating to realise that the only thing you had in common was school. i don't say that to scare you, in fact, there's something so special about how fleeting and ephemeral it really was. when i think of those people, i am transported back to sitting next to them in class and it is bittersweet. other people struggle to make an effort now that you aren't forced to see each other every week. that can also be quite difficult because the connection is real but now it isn't translating to adult life. this can improve though and honestly my biggest tip is open communication. even something so simple as saying that you haven't heard from them and you'd love to catch up and see how they are.
i do think it is an incredibly special thing to have known someone in their teenage years through to adulthood. it is really beautiful to be able to talk to someone who understands your exact experience and remembers who you were before you grew up! i don't think you will keep in touch with every person you engaged with in highschool, and nor should you. however, if you are lucky enough to have friendships worth holding onto, you should do everything in your power to keep them! i speak to several people from hs on a daily/weekly basis and we go out as much as our schedules can permit. it was still a shift. it was still scary. it can feel lonely out here sometimes honestly but your key friendships will make it through.
so yeah i hope this helped and i wish you all the best!!
tldr hs friendships can be messy but if you're lucky enough to find good people, try to hold onto them after school, even if it's hard.
